Wealth taxes could save the UK’s crumbling public services
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 19th February 2025
With public sector budgets strained across the UK and here in Scotland, how we ensure we properly fund the services that we all rely on is a critical question.
This blog from Tax Justice UK, explores what changes could be made to ensure the UK's vastly unequal tax system sees more tax paid by the wealthiest in our society.
A key issue is how stocks, shares and other assets are taxed at rates considerably lower than the incomes most working people earn. This means that people such as the former Prime Minister paid as much tax as the average teacher in 2023 on investment earnings of more than £2 million.
Research shows that a 2% wealth tax could raise £24 billion a year, and if Capital Gains Tax was levied at the same rate as income tax in England and Wales, it could raise a further £14bn.
This two-tier tax system in the UK means public services are missing out on significant tax revenue that could prevent the need for further damaging cuts.
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